Effects of water pilates on urinary loss, genital self-image and sexual function of elderly women

Descriptive, quasi experimental study with pre and post-test, which aimed to investigate the effects of Water Pilates (PA) on urinary incontinence, genital self-image and sexual function of elderly women. The sample consisted of seventeen elderly women aged 60 years or over, from a city in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire -Short Form (ICIQ-SF) was used as instruments to assess the impact of UI in quality of life and qualify urinary loss, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) to assess sexual function and Female Genital Self-Image Scale (FGSIS) to assess women's perception of their own genitalia. The PA protocol was performed twice a week for 50 minutes performed for eight weeks, totaling 16 sessions. The protocol was divided into warm-up, strengthening exercises and stretching. It was observed that the sample was composed ofyoung elderly women (69.5 ± 5.9 years), overweight and with low FSFI and FGSIS scores. There was no significant change in the mean values before and after the intervention of the ICIQ-SF, FGSIS and FSFI scores. It was concluded that the PA method had no effect on urinary loss, sexual function and genital self-image.

Physiotherapy in primary dysmenorrhea: literature review / Physiotherapy in primary dysmenorrhea: literature review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dysmenorrhea is a word derived from the Greek language and means difficult menstrual cycle. It may be classified as primary, leading to poorer quality of life indices of several women. This study aimed at investigating, by means of literature review, the efficacy and accuracy of existing therapies for primary dysmenorrhea, specifically in Physiotherapy. CONTENTS: Narrative literature review by querying electronic databases Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, Cochrane library, PEDro and Pubmed), where articles were selected and analyzed from August 2013 to February 2014. For data collection, materials from 2005 to current literature were included using the following keywords: “dysmenorrhea”, “physiotherapy” and their Portuguese equivalent “dismenorreia” and “fisioterapia”, combining them with the operators AND and OR. CONCLUSION: Studies were found describing the use of thermotherapy, cryotherapy, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation and connective tissue massage, Pilates and acupuncture with improvement of such women's symptoms. However, it is clear the need for studies regarding physiotherapeutic maneuvers with further methodological rigor. .

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Dismenorreia é uma palavra derivada do grego e significa fluxo menstrual difícil. Pode ser classificada como primária, causando diminuição dos índices de qualidade de vida de muitas mulheres. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica, a eficácia e acurácia de tratamentos existentes para dismenorreia primária, especificamente na Fisioterapia. CONTEÚDO: Revisão bibliográfica narrativa, por meio da busca em bases de dados eletrônicas (Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, biblioteca Cochrane, PEDro e Pubmed), com artigos selecionados e analisados durante o periodo de agosto de 2013 à fevereiro de 2014. Para a coleta foram incluídos materiais de 2005 até a literatura atual com os seguintes descritores: “dysmenorrhea”, “physiotherapy” e seus equivalentes em português “dismenorreia” e “fisioterapia” combinando-os com os operadores “AND” e “OR”. CONCLUSÃO: Encontraram-se trabalhos que descreveram a utilização dos recursos da termoterapia, crioterapia, eletroestimulação elétrica neural transcutânea e massagem do tecido conjuntivo, Pilates e acupuntura, com resultados que apresentam melhoras na sintomatologia dessas mulheres. No entanto, tornase evidente a necessidade do desenvolvimento de estudos referentes às manobras fisioterapêuticas com maior rigor metodológico. .

Padrão postural de bailarinas clássicas / Postural patterns of classic ballet dancers

O estudo objetiva avaliar a prática do ballet clássico e sua influência sobre o padrão postural, a) avaliando quais as alterações posturais mais comuns entre as bailarinas; b) observando a incidência de lesões e de queixas álgicas mais frequentes; c) observando a relação entre alteração postural e tempo de prática. Utilizaram-se os instrumentos: ficha de avaliação postural; escala análoga de dor atual e cronológica; questionário. Os resultados indicaram alterações posturais mais incidentes, como pelve antevertida e hiperlordótica, cabeça anteriorizada, saliência de escápulas, tendão de Aquiles varo e achatamento dos arcos interiores dos pés. As queixas álgicas mais encontradas foram nos joelhos, nos pés e na coluna lombar, respectivamente. A observação da relação de tempo de prática não serviu como referencial para indicar o aumento no número de alterações posturais.

This study aimed to analyze the classic ballet practice and its influences upon the postural pattern, a) examining the common postural anomalies between the ballet dancers; b) observing the lesion incidence and the most frequent pain complaints; c) observing the relation between postural alteration and time of practice. The following tools have been used: postural analysis file; analogical scale of current and chronological pains; questionnaire. The results showed more incidents such as postural changes, with hyperlordotic and anteverted pelvis and forward head posture, projection of shoulder blades, varus Achilles tendon and flattening of the interior feet arches. Pain complaints were more commonly found on the knees, feet and lumbar spine. The time of practice observation was not used as a reference to indicate the increase of postural alterations.